Released Oct. 23, 2007
ITHACA, N.Y. – The 2007 Cornell Strategic Marketing Conference will be held on November 5 and 6 at the Henry A Wallace Visitor and Education Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home, Hyde Park, N.Y. The theme of the conference is The Northeast Competitive Advantage: Increasing Producer Access to Markets and is sponsored by the Agricultural Marketing and Management Program Work Team and Department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University.
Determining how to better integrate existing and new farm products into emerging markets is often a challenge faced by many local and regional agricultural producers. Do you go it alone? Do you cooperate and combine activities with area producers? Do you contract with national and/or regional distributors? At this year’s conference, producers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers will share their insights on distribution, selling techniques, accessing markets, and expanding market opportunities and ways producers can capitalize on them.
William Welker, Sales Manager from Railex USA, will open this year’s conference to discuss their business approach linking the needs of growers, shippers, and manufacturers with retail and food service distribution, as well as current and planned distribution opportunities for Northeast producers interested in increasing access to large, distant consumer markets. To close the conference, Liz Thorpe, Managing Director from Murray’s Cheese will share success stories from the retail food industry on innovative approaches to reach consumers and how to create and learn to sell your products.
In addition, the conference will feature concurrent producer and industry panels representing fruits and vegetables, dairy products, and livestock and meat products that will present and share their first-hand knowledge of issues surrounding food safety, post-harvest technology innovations, new marketing approaches, and new product, value-added, and quality opportunities to meet market demands. Representatives from successful joint-producer ventures will be on hand to discuss partnerships and cooperative arrangements that are making marketing possible.
All members of the agricultural community, including agricultural producers, agricultural extension educators, farm management specialists, agricultural economic development specialists, agri-service providers, and food wholesalers and retailers are encouraged to attend. Partial funding support is provided by the Warren Teaching Endowment Fund, with supplemental support provided by the Cornell University Small Farms Program and the Agricultural and Community Economic Development Program Work Team.
The pre-registration fee is $75 if postmarked by October 26; $90 if postmarked after October 26 or if registering on-site. The fee for media personnel with valid ID will be waived. For further conference information or to obtain a registration form contact Vicki Parker at 254-6761 or vrp5@cornell.edu. Please print out and complete the registration form and mail with your check payable to Cornell University.
For more information about the conference, please contact Todd Schmit at 607-255-3015, tms1@cornell.edu or visit http://aem.cornell.edu/outreach/conferences/strategic_marketing.htm
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http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/wiki/news/index.cfm
Contacts: Anu Rangarajan, ar47@cornell.edu
Todd Schmit, 607-255-3015, tms1@cornell.edu
